1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a punching device, more particularly to a punching device including an interconnecting member that interconnects a die seat and a punch seat and a lever mechanism that is designed to reduce a torque applied to a corner between the interconnecting member and the punch seat during punching.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional punching device 1, which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. RE38,219, for punching or embossing a sheet material to create a desired decorative shape for a decorative project, such as scrapbooking or other crafts. The conventional punching device 1 includes a die seat 111, a punch seat 112, an interconnecting member 113 interconnecting one end of the die seat 111 and one end of the punch seat 112, a punch 12 supported movably on the punch seat 112, a pivot part 117 extending upwardly from the other end 1121 of the punch seat 112, a lever 14 pivoted to the pivot part 117 and provided with a protrusion 143 that is in contact with a top end of the punch 12, and an urging member 13 for urging the punch 12 to move away from the die seat 111. The punch seat 112 is disposed above and cooperates with the die seat 111 to define a sheet-receiving gap 118 therebetween for receiving a paper sheet (not shown) to be punched. The die seat 111, the punch seat 112 and the interconnecting member 113 are in the form of a single piece of a rigid material, such as plastics or metal.
Since the walls of the single piece forming the die seat 111, the punch seat 112 and the interconnecting member 113 are relatively thin, which reduces the cost and weight of the punching device 1, the interconnecting member 113 and a corner 115 between the punch seat 112 and the interconnecting member 113 tend to deform or be damaged after a period of use. The problem is attributed to the generation of a counter force (F) that acts on the pivot part 117 and is transmitted to the other end 1121 of the punch seat 112 when the lever 14 is pressed downward. The counter force (F) creates a torque (T), which is the product of the counter force (F) and a horizontal distance between the interconnecting member 113 and the other end 1121 of the punch seat 112, applied to the interconnecting member 113 and the corner 115 during the punching operation.